As the popularity of newspapers declines...

Yesterday’s blog post on Reuters Blogs is depressing for those of us who love to read the newspaper. According to a report by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, only 33 percent of respondents would miss reading their local newspaper a lot if were no longer available. I know plenty of people in Denver who miss their Rocky Mountain News!

Fortunately, people do still appear to want their local news; they are just not getting if from the newspaper. According to the report, “When it comes to local news, more people say they get that news from local television stations than any other source. About two-thirds (68%) say they regularly get local news from television reports or television station websites, 48% say they regularly get news from local newspapers in print or online, 34% say they get local news regularly from radio and 31% say they get their local news, more generally, from the internet.”

I know I risk sounding like a broken record, but studies like this show time and again why it’s so important to have a strategic, integrated public relations strategy that combines both traditional and non-traditional tactics and includes an online presence. The clients we’re lucky enough to work with at GroundFloor Media understand that, and it is fun and refreshing to continually come up with unique and innovative campaigns with them.

Tennyson Center Kids Strike it Big at Bowling

The sport of bowling has a long, rich history with its ancestral character linked to the Middle Ages and England’s King Edward III during the late 1300s. It gained considerable popularity in England during King Henry VIII’s reign in the early 1500s as the sport of the Court. “Well, if it’s good enough for Old Henry, it’ll do just fine for us!” Those were the words uttered by Amanda Brannum on a sunny winter Saturday in Denver when a rag-tag collection of GroundFloor Media staff joined forces with more than 22 kids from Tennyson Center for Children (www.childabuse.org <http://www.childabuse.org> ) to take on a few games of this old storied sport.

GroundFloor Media has had a five-year relationship with Tennyson Center for Children, the region’s oldest residential center for abused and neglected kids, that has taken the form of pro bono public relations and actively participating in social outings with the Center’s resident kids, ages 5 to 18.

Stepping up to play their first game, many of the kids were a little uncertain and timid at first. To help break the ice with the kids, we asked them to make up their own special “bowling names” that we could input for the electronic scorecards at each lane. Bowling alter-egos started to emerge in the form of such characters as Master P, Slewdog, Wicked X and Striker, to name a few.

We warmed up with a few practice rounds, and soon the kids were enthusiastically unstoppable – each finding their unique style and technique at throwing the ball down the lane. Underhand, overhand, shot-putt and the often-famous “between-the-legs” release were all throwing variations seen and heard (cer-thump!) in the alley that afternoon. Undeterred by the occasional gutter ball, the kids anxiously awaited their next frame and started jockeying to play not only their own turns but also fill in for the GroundFloor Media staff so they could get more practice.

The arrival of nachos, French fries, hot dogs and chicken nuggets was a temporary “refueling” distraction after our first game. Re-energized, and with sticky fingers, we tackled a second game sporting improved skills and somewhat reckless abandon. Some of us suspected that the greasy French fry hands helped put some useful spin on the balls. As their confidence grew, Master P and Striker claimed they’d each found their own magic bowling balls and encouraged their fellow bowlers to use them for good luck. A sense of good sportsmanship and shared learning was an underlying tone amongst the kids as they took pride in their final scores of the day and celebrated with high-fives.

Overall, it was an afternoon of unbridled fun that included a healthy balance of strikes, spares, gutter balls and smiles. While no one qualified for the Professional Bowlers Association, the Tennyson Center kids and GroundFloor Media’s big kids-at-heart left the bowling alley with plenty of terrific new memories, a few tall tales about the “pin that almost went down” and new bragging rights for the most elegant bowling technique. Although 500 years have since passed since the days of King Henry VIII’s Court, I know that Slewdog and Wicked X would have given any member of Old Henry’s bowling team a run for their money.

~Amy Claire

Storytelling...

GroundFloor Media’s senior public relations counselors often tell our clients that a press release is not the answer. Gone are the days of distributing a news release and garnering a ton of media coverage. Companies have to find ways to authentically engage with their consumers – media coverage can be an effective part of that mix but it is no longer the end-all-be-all answer. Seth Godin’s blog post today really explains that theory.

Here’s an expert: “A publicity firm will tell you stories of how they got a client ink. A PR firm will talk about storytelling and being remarkable and spreading the word. They might even suggest you don't bother getting ink or issuing press releases.”

It’s definitely worth a read.

~Ramonna

Farewell to a Friend

There’s just not much to say, except that we are saddened by the news that the Rocky Mountain News will publish its last issue on Friday. We will certainly miss this long-standing community resource and the reporters and editors who have become our friends over the years. We thank them for the news coverage they've provided and the consistent quality of their work. Best wishes.

~GroundFloor Media

Social Media Workshop in Boulder

If they haven’t already, most small businesses know they must start using social media or risk losing customers to web-savvy competitors. However, the sheer size and complexity of the social media universe can overwhelm even the coolest cats in the corporate world as they try to navigate the social media ship and pick the right social media channels for their business.

This Wednesday at the Boulder Outlook Hotel, GroundFloor Social Media will host Social Media 101: PR in the Digital World. This three-hour program, taught by our GroundFloor Social Media team and hosted by the SBDC, will provide marketers and communicators an opportunity to learn how to use the social media universe to help further their marketing and PR goals. After this Social Media 101 program, we hope that everyone will be able to confidently move forward on the social media front without looking like a deer caught in the infamous headlights.

Space is still available and information may be found at the Boulder Small Business Development Center’s Web site. www.bouldersbdc.com

Hope to see you there!

Half-day Social Media 101 seminars available free of charge to associations, nonprofits and government entities

The emergence of social media has had a dramatic impact on the public relations industry. According to a trend report from Netpop Research LLC, there are 40 million active social network users in the U.S., and social networking has grown 93 percent since 2006. And if you’re reading this blog, you’ve already changed these percentages.

We are excited to announce a new GroundFloor Social Media (GFsM) workshop series aimed at helping Colorado-based associations, nonprofits and government entities leverage social media in their marketing and fundraising campaigns. Called “Social Media: Getting in on the Ground Floor,” the series will offer personalized social media training and education at no cost. Yes, they are for free! Well, at least for the first 20 guests that register in their respective category.

Most nonprofits and government organizations know social media is one way to further boost their marketing and fundraising campaigns. However, as we all know, limited budgets often make it difficult to try nontraditional campaigns. These workshops will provide these organizations with the knowledge and know-how to increase their social media presence.

We developed our Social Media 101 workshop series to help educate organizations about the social media universe and provide them with a step-by-step guide on how to start and maintain their own social media campaigns. In these sessions, our team of social media junkies will help attendees gain a basic understanding of the different social media mediums and learn how to engage customers, employees and supporters through social media.

These half-day seminars will be taught by our GFsM team and will cover everything from Twitter to Facebook to Blogs.

Here’s the scoop. Organizations interested in participating must submit an online application which is available at http://www.groundfloormedia.com/. The workshops will be held at GroundFloor Media and are limited to 20 guests. Dates can be found on our site.

And if you don’t walk away with some new social media superpowers, then you should demand your money back… or not.

The Worst Invention – Ever

I got a new computer last week, and I had to reset all of my settings in the Office programs, such as the color of my calendar and which side the e-mail preview box shows up on, etc. I’m sure you’ve all felt that pain.

Having not personalized all of the settings yet, I was reminded of the worst invention ever – the little box that pops up on the bottom right-hand side of the monitor when you have a new e-mail. You know the one, and if you’re like me, you turn it off. If you’re not like me, you leave it on and are distracted every time a new e-mail comes into your inbox. For me, that would be more than 200 times per day on average. No wonder so many people complain about their lack of time in the day when they are overcome with new e-mail messages.

This reminds me of one of my favorite concepts that I’ve come across in recent years – “inbox zero.” Here are a few tips I’ve picked up from inbox zero posts (http://www.43folders.com/izero).

- The only way an email will ever get out of your life (and out of your worrying brain) is to either deal with it or get rid of it. If you’re planning to do anything in-between, you should have an explicit understanding of why you’re doing so. Any idea which one of these is a particularly sh%#ty idea? Touch everything once whenever possible, but even if you’re busy, take the extra 2 seconds to consider whether this really has any place in your life. If not, just punt it. Article of Faith #5: “Lying to yourself doesn’t empty an inbox.”
- Seriously: is this an email you are ever going to respond to? If it’s more than a week or two old, either answer it or delete it now.
- When you check your email and find yourself groaning “Ugh, this again?” consider creating a filter.
- Limit the number of times you check for and then scan new email throughout each day. An email auto-check set for every minute means 60 potential distractions every hour, or almost 500 per day. Look back at a week of your emails and ask yourself: how many distractions was that really worth? How much crucial, instantly actionable email did I receive to make it worth shifting my attention over 2000 times?

I hope some of these tips help all of you busy communicators out there. Now go turn that e-mail notification box off!

Get Connected '09

You know those middle-of-the-night thoughts that you write down in hopes that you won’t forget them by morning? Well, early last year, I had one of those dreams/nightmares of standing in a PR seminar listening to people talk about the art of writing press releases and literally falling asleep. So we decided to combat the bad dreams and launch the Get Connected series of professional development/networking events for senior-level marketing and communication pros. These invitation-only events provide an opportunity for leaders to gather in a peer-oriented environment to learn about new trends in the industry, discuss challenges and opportunities and network with one another.

So this February 18th, we will host 40 guests for our first Get connected event of 2009 titled: The Best Way to Deliver Tough News in Tough Times. We have a solid line up of speakers including Gil Rudawsky, Deputy Metro Business editor, Rocky Mountain News; Lynn Kimbrough, Communications Director, Denver District Attorney’s Office, Ken Keymer, Restaurant Industry Veteran, former CEO of VICORP Restaurants, Inc. and former President of Noodles & Company and Jim D. Leonard, Faegre & Benson LLP

If you are a senior-level marketing/public relations practitioner and are interested in obtaining an invitation to our next Get Connected event, send me an email to getconnected@groundfloormedia.com . The cost is $25 and we give the proceeds to our Get Grounded charity program http://www.groundfloormedia.com/giving_back.html


Happy Connecting…

Wake Up and Help the Homeless: Wear Your PJs to work

I am clearly the GroundFloor Media PJ slacker, but the rest of my colleagues showed up in style today to support Denver’s Road Home (http://www.denversroadhome.org/) by celebrating PJ Day.



In case you were shocked to walk into Starbucks and see folks dressed up in their favorite footed pajamas, today employees throughout Denver could pay $5 to wear their PJs to work. Ramonna is part of Leadership Denver this year and thanks to one of her classmates, Jennifer Hallam, made a pledge to Denver’s Road Home that GroundFloor Media would pay the way for all of our team members so they could join the cause.

In case you have missed seeing photos of our Mayor in PJs and have yet to trip over the donation meters that line the streets of Denver, Denver’s Road Home is Mayor Hickenlooper’s 10-year plan to end homelessness. During the initiatives first two years, the following has been accomplished:
• 1,243 new units of housing for the homeless have been created
• 957 families have received eviction assistance
• 3,278 homeless people received employment assistance
• 415 families have been mentored through the faith initiative

I cant think of a better reason to spend the day in PJs. In fact, I decided to celebrate a little late and plan to wear mine now.

Laura

Colorado Garden & Home Show Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Sick of the cold weather? Next weekend spring will arrive with the annual Colorado Garden & Home Show. Not only will the Show celebrate its 50th Anniversary but will include 15,000 blooming flowers, 100 tons of boulders and rocks and 2,000 truckloads of fresh recycled mulch, waterfalls, ponds and streams, paths and elevated walkways and bridges all add to the gardens’ living nature. It’s also the only show produced by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that contributes show proceeds (about $8 out of every $12 ticket) to grants and scholarships. To date, Colorado Garden Show has awarded $3 million in grants and scholarships to 207 organizations to support horticulture in Colorado.

What I really can’t wait to see is the “Secret Garden of Pirate’s Cove” entry garden. I’ve visited LaFond FX special effects company several times to check in on the 25 ft. tall by 32 ft. long pirate ship complete with pirates, cannons and ancient warriors. The enormity of the pirate ship is hard to describe. How they will move it in to the Colorado Convention Center next week will be a sight to see. Curious? Check out the behind-the-scenes video on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Colorado-Garden-Show-Inc/77663835284?ref=ts

More than 600 companies from 25 states and Canada will introduce new technologies in energy-efficient heating and cooling products, window treatments, siding, flooring, lighting, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, patio furniture, gutters, sound systems, storage systems, greenhouses, decks, spas and more. If you ever want to check out options for your dream kitchen or backyard this is the spot.

Other things not to miss:

Feb. 7 - 15
· Master Gardeners from Colorado State University’s Cooperative Extension Service will answer all your questions for free. Look for them in their bright green vests in The Education Garden.
· Marvel at the creative floral arrangements and designs in Colorado’s largest juried Flower Show, “Playtime in the Rockies,” presented by the Colorado Federation of Garden Clubs.
· Explore The 9News Hot Products Zone for new gardening and home improvement products from a leafproof gutter system to handcrafted children’s furniture to EcoSmart fire to permanent holiday LED lighting and more
· Looking for Green Ideas? Stop by the Smart Energy Living Pavilion to learn the five most important steps for achieving energy efficiency in your home.

Feb. 7-8
· Admire, but do not eat, the 120 extravagant cakes competing for prizes in the show’s botanically-correct “sugar art show.” The “Sweet Times in the Rockies” Cake Decorating Contest will be on display next to the show’s main entrance.
· Don’t miss the celebrity “ICE-OFF” cake competition to benefit The Children’s Hospital on Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. in the Demonstration Theater.

Feb. 11
· Stop by the Flower Sale halfway through the show when fading flowers will be removed from the garden and replaced. The Rotary Club will have these flowers on sale to the public for $2 per pot.

Feb. 14
· Discover tips and techniques for successful gardening and home improvement projects presented by regional experts at the Demonstration Theater. Richard Trethewey of This Old House will speak in the Demonstration Theater at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Feb. 15
· Twenty metro area Rotary Clubs will converge on the Convention Center to carefully box 7,000 flowers and ready them for delivery to 60 local nursing homes.

The State of the Media (and therefore, our profession)

I know I’m not catching anyone by surprise when I say that traditional media as we know it is in trouble. I follow “themediaisdying” on Twitter and am reminded of this sad fact every day. Now, with the Rocky Mountain News up for sale and its future uncertain, the fact is hitting home even harder than usual. As public relations professionals, this is changing our daily lives and the fundamental ways we do business. Gone are the days of beat reporters with column inches waiting to be filled with news about their beat – even good news. Nowadays it can take several calls to various contacts in the newsroom to determine who might be around that day and MIGHT have time to cover your story – if it’s a REALLY big story. I’m not complaining because that creates more work for PR practitioners; I truly feel for my friends in the media who have so little time and so few opportunities left to cover the things they are passionate about in meaningful ways.

As PR professionals, we must stay on the forefront of these changes, maintain strong relationships with the reporters who are lucky enough to be left out there, and shift our thinking toward new media and new ways to reach the consumers we need to reach. Whether that’s through blogs, microsites, special events or cause-inspired campaigns, now more than ever is the time to think out of the box, be creative, flexible and – most of all – strategic. It’s a challenging time in our industry, but there are some great opportunities out there to do things in new ways and really make an impact. Good luck!

And you call yourself an expert??

Caroline McCarthy has a great post today on CNet's "the social" blog called Marketing: Social media's hidden bubble. Her post details the plight of the infamous "Social Media Expert". (Yes, we've all met a few.) Caroline reminds us how these experts enjoyed a sudden rise to fame in 2008 as companies and agencies everywhere scrambled to hire their social media savior. Now it seems these same experts are struggling to find employment and keep their expert status among a society of much more socially-savvy folks. I agree with Caroline that the "Social Media Expert" is quickly heading the way of the dodo, however I'd argue that there are a number of companies who need guidance through the social media universe from a strategic perspective. As Caroline says, almost 50% of social media marketing campaigns fail. The difference in the 50% that do succeed? In my opinion it's strategy. When it comes to social media, you can't afford to throw 10 million spitballs at the wall and see what sticks. Where are the conversations that matter to your business taking place? What is the tone of those conversations and who's leading the discussions? In order to have a successful social media campaign you have to start with the basics and then build a sound strategy that maps to your objectives. If you need help figuring out your social media strategy, find someone with strong social media experience who understands your business and how a smart, strategic social media campaign can help your business grow.

Being an expert on something is great, but how can you be an expert on something that is changing every 3 seconds and is different for every single company?